Dashcam and pedals

 Not exactly two subjects that go together, but I thought I'd get them done in one post. First is the camera;

It's not quite as 'discreet' as it was in my head, but then the camera itself is as large as the rollbar. It works well though, with plenty of coverage. I did try the lower bar but the video showed more dashboard than outside. Discreet, yes, effective, not a chance!

It needs a TPU end cap to seal the wiring (I might even go with some silicon to seal the end) and when it gets mounted on the roll bar it will need sealing and gluing in place. Despite the tolerances being quite good it does rotate around the roll bar so it'll need fixing. It's a bit 'belt and braces' for the camera anyway. 

The next thing is the clutch pedal. On the IVA I had trouble getting it into gear a few times, I put it down to a worn slave cylinder and engine heat. Pressing the pedal right down didn't work and I was worried the car would have to be left at the centre! 

Replacing the cylinder seemed to help, until the weekend when it just wasn't happy. With my foot to the floor it wouldn't change gear. But as I lifted my foot (still with my hand on the gearstick) it dropped smoothly into gear. It turns out that if I only apply half pressure to the clutch pedal the gears are really smooth. A quick check online shows that it is possible to 'over throw' a clutch. If you remember I didn't put a back stop on any pedal as I thought the master cylinders would take care of it. In the case of the clutch pedal that's actually wrong. So I need to add a back stop to the clutch pedal. The brake pedal doesn't need one as the force of the brakes provides the stop. And the accelerator works for the full range of motion so I can leave that one alone too. 

So this weekend I'm going to drill a hole through the bulkhead and add a bolt for the clutch pedal to hit. Alternatively I could add a nut to the push rod to reduce travel, although that would be harder to adjust (the bulkhead bolt could be adjusted from inside the engine bay).

The one thing that had occurred to me is that if I had figured this out earlier and added the back stop, I could have avoided moving the brake pipe as the clutch fork wouldn't have hit it. I guess as with all the other fixes it'll show Mr IVA that I won't just settle with 'good enough'. 

Thinking about it that's been the case for most of the fixes. The number plate 'might' have been ok with just rounded edges but instead I've replaced the whole thing to show a border to the examiner. The indicators 'might' have been ok just painted but I actually moved them AND painted them. The exhaust fixings have been replaced and I've used locktite. The change of design weights could affect braking efforts so I've replaced the discs and pads. The fuel pipes got moved and got new fixing clips. 

Of course, none of that is reducing my stress and anxiety levels for the retest. I'll be glad when it's passed.

One more job for the weekend, alongside the clutch stop, will be checking the battery charging. A very simple check to confirm the alternator is behaving. I know the battery is new and can hold a charge, and it's very capable of starting the car. It also ran fine for the duration of the test and I've not charged it since, but before the long journey I want to make sure it's got 14 volts when the engine is running. 

Oh, and I want to give it a clean. I didn't appreciate how dusty it would get in the garage, and the inside needs a wipe down as well. 

A quick note for possibly later on. The consensus for the brake issues is that a smaller master cylinder may be required. I won't do it yet as I still believe the standard MC should be sufficient (if a little hard work on the brake pedal). But in case it is, the standard MX5 is 15/16 inches (although brakes international say 22.2mm which is 7/8 in). The book uses a Sierra one which may be the better option, I just need to know which Sierra one.

(Later that day)

A quick extra bit here, not enough for it's own post but I do want to note it down. When I took my car for an IVA, I had an immediate issue. As I was loading the car on to the trailer, the car grounded out on the corner of the trailer. There were two reasons for this, first the natural 'spring' of the trailer was designed for heavier loads so the One couldn't actually push the trailer down to make it flat. The second is that the car was just too damn low! 

Ride height is something I'm going to need to work on as I drive it more (potholes and speed humps are not low-car friendly). Initially all I did was raise the car on the spring seats, just to get it high enough to load up. But a post on LocostBuilders reminded me that I had done this, and not particularly scientifically. 

The issue is that the spring seat height has a bit of influence over corner weights, which could explain why the passenger side front was about 50Kg lighter on brake forces. So another task for this weekend is to reset the suspension ride height. Obviously with the car already tested for self centering I have a bit more freedom to set it to 'driveable' positions. I still don't want it too low but having it equal on both sides will be a good start. I may even do the corner weights again, just to make sure they're the same across the front. Again, that's another step closer to having greater braking forces across the front. 

And I've just remembered something else... the grub screws on one of the collars rounded off. I need to fix it. Suddenly I've gone from not having much to do on the car to 'this is several weekend of work'! I've just checked in the garage and I have spare grub screws, so at the very least I can drill it out. It's the drivers side rear so could be really easy to sort, or just an absolute nightmare. A brief test suggests it's a bit secure. I'll also look at some protection for the spring seat threads, probably just silicon grease.